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Leaves Of Hope
Catherine Palmer
An adventurous spirit has always set Beth Lowell apart in her family, creating tension with her mother, Jan, who cherishes stability.Beth, a risk taker who traverses the globe for her job, wonders how Jan, now widowed, can endure her staid, predictable life. Then a note hidden inside an antique tea set reveals that Jan has kept a shocking secret from Beth.Beth's search for the birth father she has never known takes her to an enchanting tea estate in the Himalayan foothills, accompanied by a handsome British businessman.And the revelation of a long-hidden past forces Jan to embark on her own journey–toward reconciliation with her daughter and the courage to love again.
Critical Praise for Catherine Palmer
“Catherine Palmer is the diva of heartbreak fiction!”
—Romantic Times BOOKclub
“Palmer has created some interesting characters…Brock’s faith journey is realistic and will touch readers.”
—Romantic Times BOOKclub on Love’s Haven
“Believable characters tug at heartstrings, and God’s power to change hearts and lives is beautifully depicted.”
—Romantic Times BOOKclub on That Christmas Feeling
“Fans of…the award-winning Palmer will enjoy this light and tightly written romance.”
—Library Journal on Victorian Rose
“A powerful mix of lightness and intensity, this novel demonstrates a beautiful message of Christian love. Expertly drawn characters and Ms. Palmer’s gifted insight into the human heart make this one of the best inspirational and historical romances of the year.”
—Romantic Times BOOKclub on Prairie Fire
“Palmer certainly doesn’t preach, yet spiritual truths come part and parcel with the story. Balancing her characters’ flood of negative emotions with their spiritual reawakening is difficult, but Palmer succeeds admirably. Fans of Dee Henderson’s fast-paced Christian thrillers will find Palmer’s novel just as riveting.”
—Publishers Weekly on A Dangerous Silence
Leaves of Hope
Catherine Palmer
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Tim Palmer, whose humble service to
“the least of these” bears daily witness that any
man who is in Christ is a new creation.
Acknowledgments
A book’s roots run deep. This story’s legacy goes all the way back to the tea and coffee fields of my childhood in Kenya. To Carol Lloyd, whose friendship saved my mother and brought intense joy to my young life. To her husband, Thomas Lloyd, manager of Tinderet tea estate, a man whose life demonstrates that hard, honest work can break down every barrier. To Richard Wilson, who brought me more happiness than he will ever know. And to his family, whose life in Kenya helped spark the very essence of my imagination.
While the oldest and deepest roots hold a plant in place, the newer ones provide the nourishment that gives it life. For this book’s existence, I thank my husband, Tim, who patiently lived the story of Jan and Beth with me and who edited every word of the manuscript before it left my hands. I am so grateful to my Steeple Hill editor, Joan Marlow Golan, who listened to my heart and gave me freedom to stretch my wings in writing the story of two generations bound by a message in a teapot. My gratitude also to Karen Solem, my agent, a woman who always keeps me pressing forward in the Christian race. May God richly bless all of you!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you think Beth should have opened the cardboard box with her name on it? Why or why not? Is it ever all right to disobey a parent’s wishes?
2. Why do you think Jan kept the tea set Thomas Wood had given her? Why do you think she put the note inside it? Do you believe she told Beth the truth about her reasons for holding on to the gift from Thomas?
3. What do you think of Jan’s relationship with John Lowell? Was she right to have married him? Do you believe she really loved him? Did he really love her? What kind of man do you think he was—and why did he behave as he did? How does Beth feel toward John before and after the discovery of the teapot?
4. Why is Jan so upset to discover that her hair color has been discontinued? What does the dye symbolize to her? How do Jan’s feelings about her age change through the story? Why?
5. Jan has always painted roses. Why was she so determined to put her daughter into a pink bedroom? Why are the sayings on the walls and paintings of the roses so important to Jan? Why does she suddenly start painting children?
6. What do you think of Beth’s attitude and behavior toward her mother? Should she have confronted Jan about her discovery of the note? When she was dealing with the news about her birth father, did her life give evidence of her faith in Christ? She regularly talks about running a race. What does she mean by that?
7. How are Jan and Beth different? Are they alike in any way? How have they affected and changed each other through the years?
8. What part does Jim Blevins play in Jan’s life? Do you think she treats him well? How does Jim play a role in Beth’s life? What do you suppose will happen to Jim?
9. Miles Wilson describes himself as “boorish.” What sort of man is he when Beth meets him? Why does she have such a powerful impact upon him? Why is Malcolm Wilson important in his brother’s life? What kind of man is Miles at the end of the book?
10. Do you believe Jan and Miles were right when they decided their new faith in Christ should bear physical evidence of change? Did they really need to go all the way to India to prove it? What did Jan and Miles mean when they discussed that Beth seemed to “glow”? Paul said that any person who gives his or her life to Christ becomes a new creation. Do you believe that new life in Christ always brings about a dramatic change? How did Beth, Jan, Miles and Thomas live out their faith?
To ask questions or for further information,
please visit the author’s Web site:
www.catherinepalmer.com
Contents
Chapter One (#u528eebf5-0302-505c-9cfe-0c01fc1f71be)
Chapter Two (#ubfd76b81-a7a4-5dea-9dde-6dccd0946c92)
Chapter Three (#u55375600-6862-5f44-b111-903aff682c07)
Chapter Four (#ucd435f7f-071e-5051-b9ff-1f6658ed08e3)
Chapter Five (#ud0568b62-ca54-5602-aecb-84ab1857cea8)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Lake Palestine, Texas
Being home again felt better than she had expected. With her mother living in a new house by the lake and her father gone, Beth Lowell had feared things might seem strange. But there in the pink armchair sat her mom reading a magazine. By the door stood the familiar brass coatrack. On the table sat a bouquet of fresh roses, as always. As much as she wished her mother would wake up and do something exciting with her life, Beth couldn’t deny the pleasure in the familiar aroma of Jan Lowell’s warm cherry cobbler. The taste of her famous chicken salad. The tang of fresh, homemade lemonade.
“Do you realize how many times your phone has tweedled, sweetie?” Jan lifted her head from the magazine. “I bet you’ve had fifteen calls since you got here this afternoon.”
“Is that bothering you?” Beth asked as she set the phone beside her on the old beige sofa.
“It does make conversation difficult. I haven’t seen you in almost a year, but we can hardly finish a sentence. Before this last call, you were telling me about your boss.”
“I don’t want to talk about Joe anymore.” Beth crossed her legs and rubbed her toes, determined to avoid the subject of the man she had been dating for two months. “He’s a good guy, but he doesn’t understand my job. They bought us out because they knew they needed us, but Joe hasn’t found time to learn what we do.”
Her mom’s eyebrows lifted. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Beth. Who’s they, and who’s us? And what do you really do?”
“My division of the company used to be an independent consulting firm. We assisted various corporations with international transitions. Last year, Global Relocation Services acquired the firm and moved us to New York. Now we help their clients.”
As Jan shook her head in confusion, Beth wondered why her mother suddenly looked so old. Why did she wear a faded pink chenille bathrobe and that ancient flannel nightgown? And why did she still have those awful fake-fur slippers she’d gotten for Christmas a jillion years ago?
“What is an international transition, honey?” Jan asked. “I’m sorry, but I can’t picture what that means.”
She adjusted herself in the chair, Beth noticed, as though her back were hurting. Could she have osteoporosis at age forty-five?
“You’re the English teacher, Mom,” Beth reminded her. “International refers to the world. Transition means moving and changing. I help people move around the world. Industry executives. Diplomats. Oil field managers.”
“You pack boxes for them?” Jan glanced at the stacks of cartons still lining the edge of her living room. Though she had been living at the lake for more than a month now, she had yet to sort through all her possessions. The guest room where Beth would sleep was a maze of lamps, side tables, artificial flower arrangements and boxes.
“The moving company takes care of people’s furniture and possessions—the packing and unpacking,” Beth explained. “My division handles the rest.”
“What else is there?”
“Everything. Families are uprooting their lives and settling into a new community. That’s where I come in.”
Jan flipped a page in her magazine without looking down at it. “Like helping them find a good school?”
“That and a hundred other things. For example, I just spent three months working with the family of a plastics company executive moving from Chicago to Colombia.”
“Colombia? South America? Where they have the drugs and cartels and kidnappings? You didn’t go down there, did you?”
“Sure, I went. This family—Dad, Mom and three children—were moving to the city of Cali. I interviewed each person to learn what they needed in order to be happy. Then I went to work. I helped them find a great house—five bedrooms, swimming pool, wonderful yard. There’s a wall with Spanish lace on top—that’s broken glass and barbed wire. And I set them up with a reputable security company, so they’ve got armed guards and watchdogs 24/7.”
“How horrible!”
“No, it’s great. It’s safe, too—that’s the main thing. Their car has an armed chauffeur, and the house features a state-of-the-art alarm system. I found the kids an international school where classes are taught in English. Fully accredited—kindergarten through twelfth grade. Ninety-five percent of the students go on to university, most of them in the United States.”
“Well, that’s impressive. But what a scary place to live. Armed guards?”
Beth shrugged. “Families like that are prey for kidnappers. They’re wealthy, they’re American and they work for Fortune 500 companies. Unfortunately, Colombia has a number of guerrilla organizations. Ransom money helps pay for their activities. So does drug money.”
“Beth, what kind of parents would move their children to such a place? It’s so risky, so irresponsible! And how could you go there without telling me? If I’d known, I would have been frantic!”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. I loved every minute of it, and I was perfectly safe. Cali is an enchanting city—flowers, a perfect climate, wonderful people.”
“Except for the drug lords and guerrillas,” Jan said drily.
“What country doesn’t have a criminal element?” Beth countered, trying to squelch her resentment that her mother was putting her on the defensive about her work…her life. “The family was thrilled with my work. Before the move, our transition team briefed them on what to expect—not just the change in lifestyle but the emotional impact of the move. I heard from the mother the other day. They’re enjoying their new life, the kids are excited about school and everyone is taking Spanish classes.”
Jan leaned back and set her magazine on the table. “I don’t know how you became this person, Beth,” she said softly. “You grew up in Tyler.”
“Everyone grows up somewhere. I’ve always wanted to travel, Mom. You make it sound like a bad thing.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“Not really. And the adventure is more than worth the risk. I’m going to Botswana in a couple of weeks!”
“Africa? Oh, my.”
“Are you really worried, Mom? Or is it that you don’t like change, so you can’t believe someone else would?”
“Probably a little of both. Frankly, even hearing about it wears me out. I wouldn’t know where to begin doing what you do. And those poor wives. If my husband had moved me around like that…”
She paused, her eyes drifting to the corner of the living room as if she were looking at something far away. Then she shook herself and focused on her daughter again. “I’d be scared to death, and I would probably hate it. I’m glad you’re happy, though, honey. That’s all I want for you.”
Beth rearranged herself on the couch. “I wish you’d come to New York for a visit, Mom. I’d show you my apartment, my job…my life. We could go to some of my favorite restaurants. And see a play. When was the last time you saw a Broadway production?”
“I’ve never been to New York.” Jan admitted.
“Mom, that’s awful! You’ve never been to a Broadway show? You were an English major. You directed plays at John Tyler High School for the past twenty years. Didn’t you have a chance to go when you were young—on a band trip or during college?”
“New York City is a long way from Tyler. Besides, I’ve never wanted to leave Texas. I’m sorry to disappoint you, honey, but I like my quiet life out here by the lake.”
Beth gazed out the window at the mown green lawn, the strip of gray road, the yard across the street and the lake beyond. The sunset reflecting on the water flashed periwinkle and pink sparkles as snatches of foamy white scattered across the surface. Birds wheeled and screeched overhead—seagulls and pelicans—dipping to pluck fish from the water.
